Joey Gase joins MBM Motorsports, helps unveil No. 35 Supra

MBM Motorsports announced Wednesday that Joey Gase will be its driver for the full NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2019. The team added an extra dash of newness with its car reveal.

Gase, 25, joined team owner Carl Long at the NASCAR Hall of Fame to take the wraps off a No. 35 Toyota Supra, the automaker’s long-anticipated model of choice for the Xfinity Series. The car, sporting sponsorship from Eternal Fan, was believed to be the first Supra shown in NASCAR race trim since the manufacturer’s official unveiling last summer at Daytona International Speedway.

“First time I saw it in person was this past weekend. I think it looks really cool and really different, not quite like a traditional stock car, for sure,” Gase said. “But I think it’s going to be really fast and I think we have a really awesome looking Eternal Fan car.”

Besides the Xfinity Series duties, Gase is scheduled for multiple races — as much as 90 percent of the schedule, Long said — in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 66 MBM team. That partial schedule will start with MBM’s attempt to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500 (Feb. 17, 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“For the most part, I’m just happy to be on this side of it,” Long said, “and to have an experienced driver like Joey to get into this thing and start off the year running with performance, something that we feel like we’ve already achieved and we’re only going to get better.”

The organization also plans to field a No. 66 entry on the Xfinity side. Long indicated the crew chief hiring process was underway, with Gase’s involvement to help find the right fit.

Gase has made 30 Monster Energy Series starts over the past five seasons, running eight races last year for four different teams. He has been a full-time Xfinity Series competitor since 2014, driving last season for Go Green Racing and team owner Archie St. Hilaire.

Despite the switch, Gase will continue to fly the No. 35 he piloted last year — a car number that dates back to his days racing Late Models.

“The 35 number means a lot to Joey,” Long said. “The only thing I did was gave him a little design on the number, I thought. We’re all good.”